REVIEW: Unteachable by Leah Raeder

Summary: I met him at a carnival, of all corny places. The summer I turned eighteen, in that chaos of neon lights and cheap thrills, I met a man so sweet, so beautiful, he seemed to come from another world. We had one night: intense, scary, real. Then I ran, like I always do. Because I didn’t want to be abandoned again.

But I couldn’t run far enough.

I knew him as Evan that night. When I walked into his classroom, he became Mr. Wilke.

My teacher.

I don’t know if what we’re doing is wrong. The rules say one thing; my heart says screw the rules. I can’t let him lose his job. And I can’t lose him.

In the movies, this would have a happy ending. I grow up. I love, I lose, I learn. And I move on. But this is life, and there’s no script. You make it up as you go along.

And you don’t pray for a happy ending. You pray for it to never end.

Stars: 4/5

I’m going to be honest. This book didn’t grab me from the very start. I don’t exactly know the reason why, it was just that I had a hard time getting into it and enjoying it properly. However, as the story went on, I was having a harder time letting my phone out of my hands, even though there were others things to do. You see, I fucking love books with student/teacher relationships. I always found the subject interesting so I like to see how it’s handled. And this book didn’t disappoint after all.

Maise was, surprisingly, a very lovable character. She was confident, strong and brave which is really all I’m looking for in a main character. She knew was she wanted and she wasn’t afraid to get it – at least not on the outside. Although, there’s her fucked up life and a fucked up mother and her fucked up self, she’s built herself in a way that’s making her appear unbreakable. Then there’s Mr. Wilke, or Evan, who’s making her alive – or, better to say, they are making each other alive. I was quite fascinated with their relationship, actually. It was full of light with a hint of darkness, and I have no idea if I’m making any sense right now and I apologize if I don’t, but there was just something, making it special – making this book different than other books dealing with student/teacher relationships.

I’m trying to come up with something else to say, but my mind is blank. I think I still need to process this book a bit more to be able to write anything better than this. All things considered, this is one of the better books I’ve read lately and it left me a bit speechless and a bit amazed in the end. I’d like to thank the author for bringing this book in NA genre and making it better. Definite recommendation.